“I believe that we are truly the only bank today that really goes out and holds our clients hand,” said Barbie Blank, Vice President and Business Relationship banker at Florida Capital Bank.
A nationally chartered community bank based out of Jacksonville, Florida Capital Bank hasn’t always been the multi-million-dollar bank it is today. Founded in 2005 through the acquisition of the small First National Bank of Tarpon Springs, FLC Bank moved the headquarters to Jacksonville, and through their dedicated concierge banking style expanded to 150 employees across the U.S. and an asset size of $450 million as of 2022 with branches in Gainesville, Orlando, and Tampa Bay.
FLC Bank sets itself apart from other, perhaps even bigger, banks by its “we bring the bank to you,” approach. “When I take on a client,” Blank said, “we do everything from the comfort of their home or office, and we will sit down with them and go over our products, our programs, and what we can do for them in making sure that it’s a good match.” Favoring a more personal banker-client relationship, FLC Bank does not have a 1-800 number, which as anyone who’s ever called one knows, are notorious for acquainting callers with the sonic mystery that is hold music. “I make sure my clients have my cell number, my email, my personal banker’s emails and phone numbers,” Blank said. “When a client needs something, they have numbers and resources to reach out to us directly.”
A champion of electronic banking since the beginning, FLC Bank leverages the latest technological innovations in banking to help clients get the fastest, most secure access to their money. “Electronic banking hasn’t been around that long,” Blank said, “but when we started in 2005, we encouraged banks to use online banking, to use bill pay, to use ACH (Automated Clearing House) , and all the conveniences of electronic banking.”
While use of electronic banking is widespread today, in 2005, 2 years before the invention of the iPhone, it was a tough sell. “Clients were very skeptical,” Blank said, “they didn’t feel like it was a safe way to move their money.” However, through the process of “not only educating clients on electronic banking but showing them how it is convenient,” not to mention the influence of the COVID-19 lockdowns, “it really brought home the message that we had been telling our clients all along, that you can really do all of your banking conveniently through online banking, through your cell phone, and you can be virtually anywhere in the world.”
Members of the Chamber since 2017, Florida Capital Bank has been active in the Ambassador Program, with Blank serving as Co-chair in 2020. “I was able to connect with a lot of people,” Blank said. “My goal was to meet people, to be able to connect those people to my clients. So, if my client needed a payroll service, or security in their building, at my fingertips I had those resources.”
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